Owls and their nest boxes are exterminating pests at wineries

ESCONDIDO -- In the ecological world of vineyards, the delicate
balance between success and the failure of a crop can easily shift
from good to bad by a scourge of menaces -- rodents and
insects.

Dotting the landscape of the San Pasqual Valley's Orfila
Vineyards are large house-like boxes sitting atop enormous poles.
Inside finds the protector of the harvest -- the basic barn owl.
Head winemaker, Leon Santoro, has witnessed the bird of prey's
master the pest problems.

"The evidence is on the ground around the boxes," he said. "You
see the rodent's bones."

The round faces of the barn owl are their distinguishing
features and through the natural mating process, an owl -- and
extended family -- can protect a vineyard for generations. Ten
years ago, Santoro put up three of his own boxes with modest
success. When Tom Stephan, a bird of prey expert and owl box
builder met Santoro, he sold the winemaker his next set.

"The ones we built look more primitive," Santoro said. "His has
much better wood and is professionally put together. It's such a
great idea."

When he is asked if the process works, Stephan's reply is
consistent. "I know it will work," he said. "The laws of nature
require it."

Santoro's passion for agriculture and nature began with his
first time running a vineyard in Napa Valley. Wanting to remain
ecologically friendly, he called the U.S. Department of Fish and
Game to get their input into his budding business. "They showed me
how you can develop a vineyard and still be ecological," Santoro
said. In 1991, Santoro saw opportunity once again to reduce his
winery's ecological imprint on the environment. "Here's my chance
to go organic. We couldn't go 100 percent organic, but in terms of
rodent eradication, I knew I could."

As Stephan periodically checks on Orfila's owl boxes, over the
last year, he noticed a single owl by the winery's driveway. Every
other box was filled with parents bearing eggs. Initially the owl,
thought to be a female, upon closer inspection was determined that
it was a single male owl. "I thought why not place a singles ad?
Single owl, free room and board," Santoro said. "I have a sense of
humor."

It is illegal to purchase owls, so one must arrive naturally, a
prospect Stephan said he is certain will happen. "Nature will take
its course," he said.

"They'll be one in there very soon. This spring, all the boxes
will be full."

"I hope so," Santoro added. "You see, I'm impatient. We've had
owls here for years and I'd like to see more. For owls, this place
is heaven."

The Orfila Vineyards wine club calls itself the Orfila Wine
Lovers. Established in 2005, as staff was compiling materials for
their new program, someone noticed the acronym-O.W.L. "We can tie
it in with the owls in the vineyard. This is all by coincidence. We
are all not that bright. This was not part of a marketing
plan."